POWDER: Smarter Navigation on the Web

Stakeholder Meeting

Reason for the Meeting

End users can be very demanding. They expect Web sites to work just as
well on their mobile device as on their desktop, some need Web sites to work
just as well with or without a screen, images or color, and, of course, they
expect children to be protected, online traders to be honest and information
to be accurate.

Satisfying an audience that makes ever greater demands requires
increasingly personalized content, on the fly aggregation and smarter
navigation. This is the underlying driver behind the W3C's new Protocol for
Web Description Resources (POWDER).

At heart it's about quickly and easily creating small amounts of data to
describe a lot of content that can then be matched with a user's requests, needs and
preferences.

What exactly is it? What can it do that can't be done already? How does it
fit in with what is already being done successfully? How will POWDER enable
content and service providers to improve their offering?

This joint W3C/GSMA meeting offers industry stakeholders the chance to
explore these questions, and more, with the Working Group members in an informal,
closed session. As the draft agenda shows, the range of use cases for the
technology is broad but is focused on the desire to be able to identify online
resources that meet particular criteria in a way that can be trusted and used by
commercial brands to the benefit of their users.

The POWDER Working Group is making rapid progress and expects to be
seeking test implementations in spring of this year. The meeting will provide timely
information to those who stand to benefit most from the new technology and
whose input is critical in ensuring that it meets existing commercial needs
whilst opening new possibilities.

Who should attend

Policy professionals from online content and service providers

System architects

Product managers

Note: this is an invitation-only event not open to the press. It is the intention, however,
to publish a general report on the event in which comments and opinions will not be attributed. See the report
published following a similar event held in July 2007.

If
you are interested in attending please register or contact
Matt Womer,
the W3C Team Contact. Due to limited space W3C members are permitted one
attendee, except with permission from the working group Chair. Spaces
will be filled on a first come first served basis.